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Journal editors agree to censor research papers

By Michael Le Page in Denver

SCIENCE has entered a new age of self-censorship. Two research papers have been modified prior to publication because of fears the information they contained could help terrorists create biological weapons. And an influential group of journal editors is calling on all peer-reviewed publications to censor themselves in this way.

The two papers were submitted to journals published by the American Society for Microbiology, Ron Atlas, president of the ASM, told a press briefing at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Denver. One paper, he hinted, had included details of how …